What's Up with Local Sports? 4/22/2013

Apr 22, 2013 05:43PM
● By Anonymous

The perfect month of April ended for the Washington Capitals (25-18-2) when they lost to the Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Thursday night. However, they quickly recovered and earned yet another difficult 5-1 road win over the Montréal Canadiens on Saturday night. Troy Brouwer and Alex Ovechkin added two goals each. Ovechkin is now up to a league-leading 30 goals. Next game: vs. Winnipeg Jets, April 23, 7 p.m.

The Washington Nationals (10-8) went three of six on a road trip that included stops at Miami and New York. The Nats were able to take two of three against the Marlins but dropped two of three against the Mets. Bryce Harper had notable performances, hitting 4-for-5 against Miami on Wednesday while battling an illness and jacking two home runs against the Mets on Saturday. Next game: at St. Louis Cardinals, April 22, 7:05 p.m.

The Baltimore Orioles (10-8) Matt Wieters hit a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 10th against the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday night to give the O's the series win. The Orioles also took the first two games of their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a Saturday double-header after their Friday night matchup was rained out. However, a sweep was unattainable after the Dodgers took the game Sunday 7-4. Next game: vs. Toronto Blue Jays, April 22, 7:05 p.m.

The NFL regular season schedule was released last week to the delight of Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens fans. The Ravens will play in four prime-time games and the Redskins will play five, which is a team record.

Due to a scheduling conflict with the hometown Orioles, the Ravens will begin their Super Bowl defense on the road Thursday, September 5th on NBC against the reloaded Denver Broncos with Peyton Manning and Wes Welker. It will make for a nice return for newly acquired Elvis Dumervil. The Ravens play the Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Thanksgiving and close the season on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Redskins begin their journey on Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 5th. They will also make a MNF appearance at home against the San Francisco 49ers. Their Sunday Night Football appearances will come during a road battle against the Dallas Cowboys in October and at home against the New York Giants in December. The Minnesota Vikings will host them on Thursday Night Football on NFL Network in early November.

The Washington Wizards (29-53) dropped their final two games of the season against the Brooklyn Nets and the Chicago Bulls last week. The Wizards also lost a tiebreaking draw to the Detroit Pistons and are now in the No. 8 position for the NBA Draft. Washington has a 3.5 percent chance of getting the overall No. 1 selection in the NBA Draft Lottery. They can't pick lower than the 11th spot.

D.C. United (1-1-5) followed up their 2-0 loss to the Red Bulls with a 3-2 loss at home against the Philadelphia Union. Jack McInerney scored two goals for the Union. Perry Kitchen and Lionard Pajoy scored for D.C. United. Next game: at Columbus Crew, April 27, 7:30 p.m.

The No. 1 Maryland women's lacrosse team (17-0) completed its seventh perfect season in program history by dominating Virginia Tech 15-7 on the road Saturday. it is their first perfect season since 2009. Next game: vs. winner of Duke/Virginia (ACC Semifinals), April 26, 1 p.m. The No. 4 Terps men's lacrosse team (9-2) took down No. 15 Yale 8-7 on Saturday. Mike Chanenchuk earned a hat trick and scored the game-winning goal with 13 seconds left. Next game: vs. Virginia (ACC Semifinals), April 26, 5 p.m.

The No. 14/12 Navy women's lacrosse team (16-1) secured their Patriot League title and closed out their season with two double overtime victories this weekend. On Friday afternoon, the Mids beat Jacksonville 13-12 on Senior Day. The Mids also took care of business Sunday afternoon, taking down American 11-10. Jasmine DePompeo scored the game-winning goals in both games. Next game: vs. Lafayette (Patriot League Tournament), April 26, 5 p.m. The Navy men's team (3-10) dropped their season finale to No. 11 Johns Hopkins 15-4 Saturday.

In Maryland basketball news, to no one's surprise, center Alex Len declared for the NBA Draft after only two seasons as a Terrapin. He is projected to be a lottery pick. Forward Tianna Hawkins was selected 6th overall in the WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm.

Georgetown basketball lost two fantastic players from their programs as well. Big East Player of the Year Otto Porter, Jr. declared for the NBA Draft and, like Len, could very well be a Top 10 pick. On the women's side, Sugar Rodgers was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in the second round of the WNBA Draft with the 14th overall pick.